From: Lermanet.com <alerma@verizon.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Private Eye - Cult Corner - the Life and Death of Mr Motivala
Message-ID: <f53f219r2ktnnppn75tibjne9in2j66jqd@4ax.com>
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 22:39:30 GMT
PRIVATE EYE 80p
No 816
March 1993
England
Cult Corner
The Life and Death of Mr Motivala
MYSTERY still surrounds the death of a
father of three who feared he might be
attacked because of his fierce criticism of the
"church" of Scientology.
The body of 38-year=old Khushroo "Chris" Motivala was found hanging
from the loft of his Greenford home last September. An inquest last
week heard that, despite allegations he had been murdered and that his
death was out of character, there was no evidence that anybody else
was involved. Hammersmith coroner Mr Paul Burton recorded an open
verdict.
Mr Motivala's fight against the cult began after his live in
girlfriend Ruth Turk joined the church. He dabbled briefly, and
together they went on the Scientology cruise ship Freewinds, where he
took the cult's "communication course" and "purification rundown".
But Mr. Motivala found the courses useless and objected to his
girlfreinds deeper involvement. Eventually they split up. He suspected
she had spent more than 16,000 (Pounds Sterling) on Scientology
courses, some of which he thought had come from their courier business
which subsequently ran into difficulties and was sold. It was a claim
Miss Turk denied.
Mr Motivala began a battle for custody of their three children
fearing they too would become members of the cult. He embarked on a
campaign to expose the church but became increasingly worried about
his own safety. He had many arguments with the cult's staff at its
London "Clebrity Center" in Tottenham Court Road where Ruth Turk had
attended courses, and with senior staff at its East Grinstead
headquarters.
He began building up information on the cult to use in his fight to
retain custody of his daughters, and in the months before his death
threatened to sue the movement for the return of money which he and
Ruth Turk had spent on worthless courses.
Shortly before his death he met journalists in an effort to expose
what he saw as the cult's evils. At the meeting, at which jornalists
thought he had a bodyguard, he said he feared he might be attacked. he
claimed the cult had told him that if he continued to campaign against
them they would make sure he would never see his children again.
During his brief involvement with the cult he had undergone some
auditing sessions at which new recruits are encouraged to reveal all
their past misdemeanors. he was also afraid the cult might use the
information in his files against him during the forthcoming custody
battle.
His campaigning became so intensive the cult issued him with a "non
enturbulation order" warning him to stop his anti-scientology
behavious and his negative attitude towards them. Failure to comply
would lead to him being declared a "supressive person" and an enemy of
the church and someone who, according to founder L. Ron Hubbard's own
edicts, could be "tricked, lied to or utterly destroyed".
The court heard that he never met representatives of the cult alone
and one occassion took a friend along to act as "minder". It was also
told he kept a large knife by the front door in case of attack by
members of the cult. His girlfriend said: "He made a point of
harassing the Scientologists. he was always afraid there would be an
attack on him."
Friends were astounded by his death and none could understand it. His
employer said he was in good spirits at the time he died because his
lawyers had told him he stood a good chance of getting custody of the
children. he would, he said, be astounded if Mr Motivala had taken his
own life as he would, effectively, have been conceding everything that
he had fought for.
After hearing of his fears for his safety, police initially treated
the case as suspicious. They carried out tests to see if he had been
poisoned or drugged before being hanged but were unable to find
anything to suggest that anyone else was involved in his death.

Typed in by hand by Arnie Lerma because the original was in too bad
a shape to scan, as can been seen from the included scan below.